The Penumbra Unbound: The Neo-Taoist Philosophy of Guo Xiang (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) [Paperback]

Brook Ziporyn (Author)

Book Description

Series: SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture | Publication Date: March 17, 2003

"Explores the work of Guo Ziang, a Neo-Taoist thinker who developed a radical philosophy of freedom and spontaneity."

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"The Penumbra Unbound is the first English language book-length study of the Neo-Taoist thinker Guo Xiang (d. 312 c.e.), commentator on the classic Taoist text, the Zhuangzi. The author explores Guo's philosophy of freedom and spontaneity, explains its coherence and importance, and shows its influence on later Chinese philosophy, particularly Chan Buddhism. The implications of his thought on freedom versus determinism are also considered in comparison to several positions advanced in the history of Western philosophy, notably those of Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, Fichte, and Hegel. Guo's thought reinterprets the classical pronouncements about the Tao so that it in no way signifies any kind of metaphysical absolute underlying appearances, but rather means literally "nothing." This absence of anything beyond appearances is the first premise in Guo's development of a theory of radical freedom, one in which all phenomenal things are "self-so," creating and transforming themselves without depending on any justification beyond their own temporary being." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Brook Ziporyn is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Northwestern University. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (March 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791456625
• ISBN-13: 978-0791456620
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,516,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hoping for something different, November 7, 2004

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Penumbra Unbound: The Neo-Taoist Philosophy of Guo Xiang (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) (Paperback)

Guo Xiang is a little-known and relatively late Taoist writer. He followed a common usage in rigidly decorous Confucian society. Phrasing anything as a new idea would have been an unforgivable snub to the classic masters, but commentaries on the classics honored them properly. This book is phrased as a commentary on the Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), but the commentary really says more about Guo's thinking than about Zhuangzi's.

Unlike earlier Taoist authors, Guo was firmly a part of a strict, hierarchical, Confucian society. That gives much of his writing an odd cast. Earlier Taoists seemed quite egalitarian, rating the high or low according to their wisdom in The Way. Guo, among other things, reinforces the status quo by saying it is The Way for some to have much and others to have little - it would be improper to take from the former or to give to the latter. Social rank seems like a force of nature, on a par with gravity.

Guo said lots more, too, but I found it hard to get Guo's words from this book. This is overwhelmingly a philosophical commentary on the text of Guo, not a presentation of that text. As a result, Guo's own words are taken selectively, with little concern for their original order or context. That selectivity supported the modern commmentator's theses well. It will disappoint readers who, like me, mostly want a translation of the original text. The commentary seems well done, but just isn't what I was after.

I'm reviewing this as an amateur enthusiast of Asian classics, not as a serious sinologist or philosopher. I expect other reviewers, with other purposes and expectations, to rate this book very differently.

//wiredweird